The US military tested an experimental cruise missile launch system above the Arctic Circle on Wednesday. The commander in charge of the test called it a deliberately “provocative” move aimed at deterring Russia. The operation involved dropping a long-range cruise missile from a Special Operations C-130 transport aircraft, with parachutes slowing its descent until its rocket motor blasted it toward a target. The deployment system – called ‘Rapid Dragon’ by the military – was developed by the US Air Force, and Wednesday marked its first demonstration in Europe. ● The choice of Norway’s Andoya Space Range for the launch was deliberate. Located around two degrees north of the Arctic Circle, the range sits at the far western edge of a region of military and economic importance to Russia. 💬 The test “puts this thing within range of Russia. We are intentionally trying to be provocative without being escalatory,” operation lead Lt. Col. Lawrence Melnicoff told the US military’s Stripes outlet. “We’re trying to deter Russian aggression, [and] expansionist behavior, by showing enhanced capabilities of the [NATO] allies.”

[Editor: The US is not trying to "deter" Russian "aggression". The US is doing all it can to get a war going. Simple as that. No use listening to Pentagon's lies. More fun listening to what the readers are saying about stuff like this. Here are just some of their comments:]

💬 "These A-holes cannot help themselves, they always gotta be stirring the pot. One of these days Putin is going to lose his cool." + "Cursed Devil never rest its damned self from creating mischiefs." + "From Pax Americana to Pest Americana?" + "Seems to me, that's a lot of tax payers money, just for one rocket!" + "To be honest Russia and China need to destroy America. First China destroys the economy by dumping all Americas debt and completely dump the dollar Take Tiwan back and then both country's destroy all Americas military and get the middle east to not give them oil. That should end any threat from the US ever again. The eu have already killed them selves so no threat from them." + "So the whosa can continue to provoke and antagonize other countries with nothing to be heard from the other muppet countries who scream when NK tests a missile in it's own region...."

While some hawks accept the decision to withdraw, others are furious about the Russian military’s defeat. | Despite Moscow’s proclamations that Kherson city would remain part of Russia forever, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has ordered a withdrawal across the Dnieper River, effectively surrendering it to the advancing Ukrainians. ● In a meeting on Wednesday broadcast live on Russian television, General Sergey Surovikin, the commander of Russian troops in Ukraine, told Shoigu it was impossible to keep the city’s supply lines open. However, there may be more than logistical difficulties at play.

Dades Valley, Morocco – At the foot of the High Atlas mountain chain in southeastern Morocco, each village is named after the river that used to run through it. But today dry palm trees surround empty riverbeds and bridges now cross only stones left underneath. 💬 “When I was a child I used to swim in this river. There was an incredible fish diversity. Today half a century later, my wadi [valley] is completely dry,” says Yousef, a farmer from Kalaat MGouna, east of the gateway city of Ouarzazate. Yousef, a retired immigrant worker who lived in France, returned to his home village to grow olives, almonds, and pomegranate trees. Little did he know that irrigating his crops would become an impossible task. ● The Ouarzazate semi-desert region is drying out. As in the rest of North Africa, global warming is already showing its effects and badly affecting agriculture. In the context of drought, Moroccan farmers point the finger at the mismanagement of remaining water resources, which have been diverted from their natural course to be set aside for expanding industries. Three industries in southeastern Morocco consume the most water: mining companies, agricultural monocultures, and the world’s largest solar power plant, Noor, generating thermal energy through an evaporation process. Water from the valleys around Ouarzazate is collected in the al-Mansour Eddahbi dam which is below 12 percent of its current capacity. ● Environmental groups in the region have criticised its centralised and extractive resource management of the resource. 💬 “Local communities suffer from the effects of the climate crisis and do not even benefit from these large projects,” says Jamal Saddoq, a representative of Attac Morocco, one of the few associations working on the consequences of the extractive industry in the southeast. Along the roads through the desert, it is not uncommon to notice a white smoke cloud – a sign of mining activity. Excluding phosphates, about 40 percent of the mining licenses in Morocco are located in the Drâa-Tafilalet region. ● According to a recent interview with the Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development Leila Benali, companies in Morocco produce three million tonnes of minerals per year. Managem group, a Moroccan company operating in the extraction of precious metals and cobalt, owns the main sites in the region. This is the case of the Imider mine, the largest in Africa, from where precious minerals such as silver leaves for Gulf and European countries. ● Demonstrators have been calling for an equitable distribution of resources, including water. “We got some achievements but not up to what we expected. About 50 young people have been hired and some development projects have been set up,” the activist said. 💬 “We have been protesting since the 1980s, but little has changed except that groundwater is running out. The company is still pumping water, digging wells deeper and deeper,” says one anti-mine activist, speaking on condition of anonymity to avoid repercussions from the authorities. “That’s why in 2011 we decided to block the pipeline connecting the mine to its water tank.” As the company’s own website explains, the mining industry needs water to recover precious metals from ore.

More than 100,000 civil servants, including Border Force staff and driving test examiners, are set to go on strike in a row over pay, pensions and job cuts. | Industrial action could ‘reach into every corner of public life’, with passport control at airports, benefit payments and numerous government departments all affected, the Public and Commercial Services union said. General secretary Mark Serwotka said unless the union received ‘substantial proposals’ from No.10 addressing its concerns, details of ‘sustained’ walk-outs would be announced next Friday. It follows an ‘overwhelming’ vote in favour of strikes, after the threshold for action was reached in 126 areas of the civil servant workforce. Mr Serwotka said 💬 the government must ‘realise it can no longer treat its workers with contempt’. ● A government spokesman said plans were in place to minimise disruption, adding: ‘We regret this decision and remain in regular discussion with unions and staff.’

■ UK economy shrinks as lengthy recession looms (Al Jazeera)
■ EU Faces Winter Recession As war Sanctions Pummel the economy (PoliticoEU)
■ Household expenditure increased 4% in 2021 (EuroStat)

Hungary and Türkiye should stop blocking the ratification of Finland and Sweden’s membership of NATO, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Thursday, adding that there is a “crystal clear basis” for allowing the two Nordic nations to join the military bloc. | Speaking at a joint press conference with her Swedish counterpart, Tobias Billstrom, Baerbock said that both Ankara and Budapest have committed themselves to formalizing the accession “and that’s exactly what they need to do now.” She went on to rebuke Budapest for delaying the ratification process. “With regard to the question about Hungary: I would like to underline this clearly...there is no grey area,” she noted, adding that Berlin would provide “its kind encouragement” for the accession process.

Steve Kirsch | A short collection of key pieces of evidence showing the COVID vaccines are not "safe and effective." Not even close. They are the most deadly vaccines we've ever produced. | Here’s a high level collection of some of the most compelling pieces of evidence I’ve seen to date. This is not an exhaustive list, but just the key pieces of data that are impossible to explain if the vaccines are safe and effective. I’ve divided the collection into sections and I’ve tried to limit each section to the most compelling data points. So don’t be disappointed if your favorite item isn’t mentioned in this article; I wanted to keep it short enough to be read. I’ll try to keep this updated over time. It can be found in the my Reference Section.